Monday, March 23, 2015

K in Lautern: one more day until the mall's opening

Kaiserslautern's citizens are all abuzz about the grand opening of K in Lautern, the new mall in the center of town. It's set to open on Wednesday and there has been a big to-do made of it with lots of advertising. I even saw signs for it in Neustadt an der Weinstrasse this weekend.

The big to-do within my group of friends has been more related to us being smart alecks. It's hard for us to believe that the mall will be ready in time; the area around it is still very much a construction zone. On Saturday, I took the following photos of the progress, knowing that there were only two more work days before the grand opening (they couldn't work on it on Sunday, per German law). The stores looked as if they were under construction too. Even the mannequins in the windows were missing clothing!

As someone who's worked in fast food and who has trained employees, I also wondered how on earth the stores were going to have personnel trained in time for the grand opening when the stores weren't even fitted out yet. I speculated that experienced staff from other stores would come in for the opening or that new staff members were trained at existing stores. I'm a bit nosy about this; I imagine that I'll find out the answer to this eventually.

I walked by the mall tonight and saw through the windows that the stores seem to have really come along; the mannequins are naked no longer and many of the stores have goods in them. The outside, however, is still under construction. My curiosity will be satisfied on Wednesday when the mall opens to the public!

About Me

From the American Midwest to Southwest Germany, and everywhere in between, I recount my adventures, observations, and tips for travel here. This is a blog about Kaiserslautern especially; there is a ton of information about living, visiting, and enjoying it here.